Gameplan

As the second round of the rapid ended, the chess club all gathered in the secret puzzle cafe.

"There's no more rounds for the day, but now the challenge is keeping Gorou-san safe from that piece of shit," Okisato thought. 

"Is Zenihara still playing?" Yuusuke asked as he looked around. 

"She finished the first round before any of us. After that, I don't think I saw her since," Mimoko frowned. 

A sinking feeling gripped Okisato. "No... Rook or queen..."

"HEY! There's big trouble outside!" someone yelled as they ran into the cafe. 

...

Outside, crowds of people gathered as they stared at a horrific sight. In the hotel's outdoor garden, a horribly beaten and bruised girl was crucified at the top of one of the tall trees. She had been stripped of nearly all her clothes, save for her tattered jacket which still prominently displayed the Shogikawa gakuin insignia.

The chess club's members all stared in horror as their worst fears were confirmed. 

"ZENIHARA-CHAN!" Mimoko cried. 

...

"How is she!?" Maida glared as the paramedics carted Yuzuha away on a stretcher.

"Not looking good. Not only are all her bones broken, but she's also in a comatose state. She may not make it, and even if she does, she'll likely be in a coma for the rest of her life. What the hell happened to her!?" a paramedic scowled.

"Dammit! I'll come with you. The rest of you are on your own, but don't you dare think of doing anything wrong!" Maida shouted towards the members of the chess club.

Everyone was in shock at what had happened. Utami and Mimoko were on the ground crying as they embraced each other in a hug while Yuusuke trembled and cried on his own as he too sat on the ground. Okisato, Iori, and Numakawa all looked frustrated, but the one most shaken by the ordeal was none other than Rodeo.

"Zenihara... No, was this... because of me!?"

Okisato took notice of Rodeo and let out a sigh. "So that piece of shit went with plan b. Dammit, I should have been paying more attention to Zenihara-san, but sadly you can't protect every piece and still win the game, not unless your opponent deliberately avoids capturing any pieces. Inoue-senpai, please empty your tear ducts quickly. Right now, you're the only one who can save us from this oncoming assault," he thought.

Elsewhere, Peter confronted Haruki. "Well you truly are a vile piece of shit."

"Oi, oi, she's salvageable. If I didn’t hold back, they’d never agree to my challenge. Besides, I got me a queen of an endorsement," Haruki waved as he headed for Mimoko's group.

Everyone looked up as Haruki approached them. Some of Yuzuha's blood still littered his robe, but Haruki didn't care, in fact, he wanted everyone to see it.

"Hello Mimoko-tan, name's Haruki Kamoshida. I just had my way with Yuzuha-tan."

Rodeo immediately charged at Haruki, only to be stopped by a strong punch to the gut.

"So sloppy. I could've trained you up good, if only your bald bitch wasn't hounding you every second of the day," Haruki snarled as he shot Iori a death glare. "But hey, Yuzuha-tan might be all fucked up, but she's salvageable, if you can beat me n' my boys." 

"So if we play your game, Zenihara-san will be COMPLETELY healed?" Okisato glared.

"Was talkin’ to Mimoko-tan, but yes. Looks like you got 7 members, just like me so it'll be a team event. Of course, Mimoko-tan's the highest rated one here so if she says no, I can't help it and Yuzuha-tan stays like that till she dies... or gives birth."

"YOU DIDN'T!" Yuusuke roared.

"Oh yes, I did. I said I had my way with her, and I did. Though if it makes you all feel any better, I did it after beating her up some, but before she lost consciousness."

All the sorrow and frustration the chess club had been feeling quickly turned to rage as they all shot Haruki death glares.

"You... You are irredeemable. I WILL vanquish you and save Zenihara-chan," Mimoko declared.

Clap! Clap!

Everyone turned and gasped as they noticed Maestro Himitsu and Safumi, who appeared to be carrying someone on her back. 

"Well look who it is. That's a nice face, you got there, twintails," Safumi sneered as she hurled the figure off her back to the ground. 

Mimoko's anger quickly shifted to horror as she recognized the figure instantly. "O- OKAA-CHAN!" 

"Oi, oi, that slut's your mother and not your sister? Damn, I could become your new daddy if I could just get a piece of her ass," Haruki sneered. 

Crunch!

Everyone turned to notice a furious Peter, who had now crushed his book in his hand. "Haruki! What did you do!?" 

Haruki began to tense up, but Maestro Himitsu stepped forth. "This woman was dragged into a DESPER match as part of a little wager between me and Maestro Xiao Lin. Xiao Lin fought for her, but sadly fell ad thus, this woman was placed in a comatose state." 

"As if I'd believe that!" 

"I swear on my name as Maestro Himitsu that it is the case."

"'Maestro'!? ..."

Okisato's gaze narrowed as he observed Peter's reaction. 

"So that's the angle... Damn that woman. I'll go slug-"

"Maestro Xiao Lin has joined the Desperado league."

"SHE WHAT!?" 

"But of course, twas part of the losing conditions of the bout. Now, mister, please stay out of this. My business is with the children," Maestro Himitsu smirked as she turned back to face the chess club. 

"Y- You're Maestro Himitsu?" Mimoko trembled. 

"Correct. The very same one you heard about from Mizuse. I heard this woman who is not a WWCF member broke the rules and set foot in a secret puzzle cafe. Thus, I had her punished. Dear, kindhearted Xiao Lin tried to speak up for her, but she was no match for my might. I'll give you a chance to save her though. Conquer Haruki Kamoshida's gauntlet, and I'll let you face me."

"And why can't we just ante the points up to challenge you outright!?" 

"Oh, you could try... but for those, we'd do it in the secret puzzle cafe where DESPERs are forcefully deactivated, that means even if you win-"

"-The conditions wouldn't be reversed," Okisato glared. 

"Well you sure know your stuff. So? Is it game on?" Maestro Himitsu sneered as Safumi pulled out a DESPER. 

"Do we get time to plan our strategy?" 

"An hour... No more, no less. Should you not be back here within an hour, I'll slit this woman's throat."

"Then we won't go far. Everyone, to that veranda over there." 

"Tanabe-kun, were you aware this fiend was targeting us?" Mimoko asked.

"Only Haruki. The maestro I had no idea about."

"Why didn't you speak up earlier!?" 

"Mimoko-sama, i- It's not all his fault. He threatened us and said he'd hurt someone if we told anyone about it, but... I guess he lied," Utami trembled.

"Utami-chan..."

"Not like I think any higher of Tanabe, but when we were alone in the puzzle cafe, he tried to warn us that Gorou was the main target, but we all brushed it off," Yuusuke mumbled.

"I see... Very well. Arguing with each other is the last thing we should do. Tanabe-kun, my apologies. You may aid in the crafting of the battle plan."

As Okisato nodded in approval, Peter watched from a distance. "You're at a disadvantage, Okisato Tanabe. You're the only one there who can easily beat Haruki at both disciplines. I fear even Mimoko Inoue will lose if she's unable to mate in time," he thought as he pocketed his crushed book and walked away.

...

"...No good. I'm too dumb," Rodeo trembled. 

"We can't have that. This whole thing will likely come down to you if my prediction is true," Okisato glared.

"If the other's lives weren't at stake, I'd have no problem dragging you down with me."

"So what's the beef between you two?" Iori asked as she placed a bottle of hot wax on the end table.

"To put it simply, my family screwed his over," Okisato stated.

"Bastard's a yakuza."

The revelation quickly caused all who didn’t know of Okisato’s origins to gasp in shock, prompting him to explain his past.

Once he was finished, Yuusuke shot him a nasty glare. "I always knew you were messed up, but to think you were a yakuza on top of all that!"

"It is quite the startling development," Numakawa scowled as he adjusted his glasses.

"Don't fight. I trust Tanabe-kun with this matter. Gorou-kun, how about I give you some one-on-one pointers now that we have some information to go off of," Mimoko smiled.

Rodeo nodded in approval as the tension began to ease.

"Perfect. Unlike Utami-chan, Gorou-san isn't infatuated with Inoue-senpai, so he'll be able to absorb more of her teachings. It would be nice if he didn't have to worry about playing, but considering he's probably the only one aside from me that could tank a punch from one of the piece of shit's slaves, maximizing his chances of victory in the chess portion is our best option," Okisato thought.

As Mimoko began training Rodeo, Iori began filming a video and smeared hot wax all over her head and face. She then ripped it all off, taking the bald cap off with it and freeing her now gloopy hair from it.

"Look at that! My hair and brows are back! And they said waxing removes all hair," Iori snickered as she ran her hands through her gloopy hair.

"So she just waxed the bald cap off. Well, it's unimportant. I unlocked her gag ball ages ago anyway," Utami grumbled.

Okisato noted that Utami had gotten much more confident, and that perhaps, she could reach even greater heights now that she was beginning to find her groove. However, he still needed to ensure victory, which is why he decided to play her in a series of practice matches.

...

As the time limit neared, the chess club arrived back at where they found Yuzuha to find Haruki along with his six large muscular bodyguards. Maestro Himitsu and Safumi were also present, but looked more like they were there to spectate.

"So will you all fight?" Maestro Himitsu asked. 

"Yes. We'll all face the vile scum," Mimoko glared. 

"Perfect!" Haruki clapped as his six bodyguards stepped forth. 

"Then is this your team?" Okisato glared.

"Yup, me and my boys, Rudolph, Elijah, Niles, Gustavs, Alejandro, and Igor." 

“Then if you and the six guys around you are your team, that's fine. Now, the conditions for the match?"

"Team chess boxing. Best of 7 wins. As for the rules, standard chess boxing rules meaning all blows above the waist are allowed, though ya won't get an instant loss for a crotch punch, just a little jolt."

"'Jolt'?"

"Yeah, you'll get an electric shock, that'll freeze ya in place for a bit. And speakin’ of punishments, when your team loses, you die, Mimoko-tan dies, that bleached haired guy dies, the nerd dies, Utami-tan becomes my sex toy, and the big lug loses all freewill and personality and becomes my slave proxy that I can control at my beck and call even with just my thoughts."

"And if we win, all the injuries we sustained in the battle will be completely healed, all the injuries you gave Yuzuha Zenihara will also be healed in addition to any losing conditions you placed on her being completely reversed. In other words, she'll be restored to the state she was in before you challenged her. As for you and your slave proxies, when your team loses, your slave proxies will explode to death, and you will have all your bones explode from within, leaving you alive, but unable to move or heal for the rest of your life."

"Oo, so scary, so is all your team in agreement?"

"Yes, we are," Mimoko glared.

"Good," Haruki sneered as he turned to Maestro Himitsu and Safumi. 

Safumi nodded and activated her DESPER. The scenery immediately changed to that of an indoor boxing ring. Her and Maestro Himitsu immediately headed towards the bleachers that spawned and sat down as the combatants all headed for their respective areas.

"Oh yeah, whenever someone loses, they'll be imprisoned in a bubble off to the side until the whole thing is settled," Haruki stated.

"So who's reffing?" Okisato glared.

"The DESPER itself. There won't be a physical manifestation, but it will announce things via the loudspeaker. Best of all, I requested the voice sound like Svetlana-tan's."

"Well you've got a sick sense of humor."

"Tsar daddy promised me Svetlana-tan's hand in marriage should I kill you all with this plan."

"So who's first?"

"My boy Rudolph, the yoddelin' Buddhist.  He used to be a monk in the alps, but then he met me n' broke all his vows. Oh, the look of fear on everyone's faces when I made him, the guy they all thought to be friendly, chuck em off the mountain was glorious," Haruki sneered as a muscular man with large earlobes clad in Bavarian attire entered the ring.

"I see, then we'll nominate our team's hero to save his soul, the mighty Shouben-san."

"The hell you insulting me now for!?" Yuusuke cried.